GREENSBORO, N.C. — Morris Kimble is not your average college student; he’s also an athlete, coach and someone dozens of kids in Guilford County look up to.
Between school, track and graduation around the corner, Kimble stays busy. But the chemical engineering student at N.C. A&T is never too busy to share his love for sports and school with others.
When he’s done with track practice in the morning, it’s time to head over to a school where he becomes “Coach Morris.”
Kimble is a volunteer with Beyond Sports, a local organization that helps provide sports equipment, clinics and uniforms to Title 1 schools in Guilford County. Through his time at Beyond Sports, he’s become someone the children look up to and an example that he says most of them don’t always have at home.
“Just providing access to these kids can give these kids an increased desire to stay in school and stick around and just do something positive in the world,” he said.
Beyond Sports says nearly half of the children in Guilford County are considered low income, making it hard to join and participate in extracurricular activities. Studies indicate that students without access to extracurricular activities are more likely to drop out of school.
Beyond Sports is completely free.
“You never know who might find their passion,” Morris said. “We’re playing soccer today. Some of the girls really enjoy soccer and that might give them a reason to stay in school.”
During timeouts and breaks, he spends time speaking with the children, learning their hobbies and interests and encouraging them. You can often hear shouts of shared passions and shared dislikes, but Kimble insists they give it all a try.
When he’s done coaching, he heads back over to N.C. A&T where he studies before class. He says as much love as he has for sports, his education is his top priority.
“You don’t have to be an athlete with no book smarts, you can do both,” he said. “You can do whatever your passion is and still be successful in the classroom. You can be successful at whatever you put your mind to.”
Kimble is just one of the volunteers with Beyond Sports and encourages anyone else with a shared love for sports and mentoring to consider giving it a shot.
Those interested in volunteering can visit https://www.beyondsportsnc.com/
